Improvement in hot-air engines



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

H. KILBOURN. HOT AIR ENGINE.

No. 50,875. Patented Nov. 7, 11865.

M d l y@ l? *S Imm,...

2 Sheets-Sheet 2. H. KILBOURN. HOT AIR ENGINE.

No. 50,875. Patented NOV.. 7, 1865.

f i UNITED STATES PATENT 'OFFICE'.

HI-RAM`KILBOURN, OF WATERLOO, IOWA, ASSIGNOR TO tlIlhlSELiF AND SYLVESTER l. BABCOCK, OF SAME PLAGE.'

IMPROVEMENT lNHOT-AIR ENGINES.

Specification formingipartof Letters Patent No. 50,875, dated November 7, 1865.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, HIRAM KILBOURN, of NVaterl'oo, in the county of Black Hawk and State ot Iowa, have invented a new and Im!D proved Oaloric Engine .and I do hereby declarc that the following isa full, clear,andex act description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to make and useA thc same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specifica, tion, in whicl`1 Figure l, Sheet No. l, is a side sectional view ot' myinv'ention, taken in the line :c m, Fig. 2; Fig. 2j, a plan or top view of the same,

vpartly in section; Fig. 3, Sheet No.2, a transverse vertical. section of the same, taken in the line yy, Fi g.:1 Fig. 4, a transverse vertical sec ssts in a novel arrangement of slide-valves for the pump anddriving-cylinder, whereby a perfectly-balanced valve is obtained; and the invention further consists in a novelV means for .communicatingarotary motion to ltheshaft from which the power is taken from the reciprocatv ing motion of the pistonrod of the drivingcylinder.

lower part of which the fire-chamber B is placed.

Within theI chamber A there is placed a series of plates', G, arranged parallel with each other, with spaces between them, said plates being peri'oratedand inclosed at their edges, so that the spaces between them cannot c'om municate with the spaces D between their exterior and the inner side of A, whichf'iorms the flue of the fire-chamber B. This uev D communicates with a pipe,'E,iwhich leads to a jacket,`F, the latter encompassing thedriving-cylinder' G, as shownv clearly inFig. 3.V The due D extends entirelylaround'th'e plates:

U, which constitute the air-heating device,the air being forced through the Aperforations of said'plates by means of a pump, H, a pipe', I,

conducting the air to the chamber A', and a pipe, J, conveying' the .heated air i'rom said chamber' to the driving-cylinder G vthrough lthe pipe E, which conducts the products of combustion from thcre-'chambei" B to the jacket F, with which the smoke-pipe F communicates. By this arrangement it will. be seen that the heated air will be conveyed to vthe driving-cylinder G without being reduced in temperature, as the pipe J is inclosed within the pipe E, and consequently surrounded by the heated products of combustion from the lire-chamber B, and thecylinder Gr is also prevented from radiating heat in consequence or being surrounded by the jacket F. The plates C will also be heated with but a moderate consumption of' fuel, as thelueD entirely snrronnds them, and it will be seen that said plates, although inclosed within a spvaceot limited dimensions, present a large area of heated 'surface to the air forced through andbetween them, and the air will be thoroughly heated. Y

K represents the piston within the cylinder Gr, andL the .pistonrod, which also has the piston M of the air-pump H attached to it, as shown'clearly in Fig. 1. The heated air is conveyed by the pipe J into the center of a cylin der, Nyunderneath the drivin g-cylinder G and withnfthe jacket F. This cylinder N has a rod, O, fitted within it, with two valves, P P, upon it, which work' past ports Q Q, leading 1 into cylinder G. These valves and ports ad- A represen ts the air-heatin g chamber, in the mit the heated air into cylinder G to drive the piston K and admit of the air escaping from the cylinder at the side of the piston opposite to that being acted upon,'as will be fully understood by referring to Fig. 1.

The valve-rod O is driven from the pistonfrod' L by means of an arm, lt, attached to L and to a sliding'frame, S, the arm'B, working loosely on a rod, T,`provided with a knob, a,

at one end, and connected to a bent lever, b,

'at the opposite end, said lever being attached to' the valve-rod O, (see Fig. l.) The arm R acts alternately against the knob a anda shoulder, @through which the fulcrum-pin d ofthe j lever b passes,- and therebyactuates the valverod O at` the proper times to open and close ythe ports Q ot the valves l?. Similar valves, U U, are also used in connection with the airlink,j2, with a-lever, X, the latter being conv nee'ted to the lever b. The valves U U therelfore, it will he seen, are, withthe valves P P ofthe driving-cylinder, operated from the pis ton-rod L, andthe engine may be reversed at any time by actuating the leverX so as to chau ge theposition ofthe valves.' These valves, it will beseen, are balanced, and they are therefore operated with but little' power. rlhis `the inner end of shaft B being against it.

arrangement ol' the driving-cylinder and airpuinp with the pistons of each 'attached to one and the same rod, and the valves ot thepump and cylinder operatedi'rom said rod, renders the device very compact.

The sliding frame S has a rack, Y, attached to it, said rack being formed by having teeth all around the edge of an opening in a plate,

' q, attached to said frame. This opening has two parallel sides, L It, and"semicircnl'ar ends ifi, and a bar, Z, is attached to the plate g', which extends longitudinally along one side of it and midway between the upper and lower sides, h h, of the rack. y Into this rack a pinion, l A', on a shaft, B', gears, the power being taken from shaft B', and thek rack Y has a reciproeating motion given it from the piston-rod L in consequence of the arm R being connected to the sliding frame S, and the rack Y communicates a rotary motion to the shaft B' through the medium ofthe pinion A", the lat- .down to cause the two sides of the rack to thus engage with the pinion, so that from the reciprocating movement of the former a rotary motion in one direction will be'coxnmunicated t the latter.

The bar Z serves as a guide for the frame S,

'Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. The balanced valves P P U U, arranged,

respectively, with 'the driving-cylinder and airpump, and operated from the piston-rod L, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

.2. The rack Y, attached to the sliding frame S, in connection with the pinion A and the spring C', substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

The above specification ot my invention signed by me this 2d day ofJune, 1865.

HIRAM KILBOURN.

'Wi tnesses:

M. M. LIVINGSTON, O. L. Tormrr. 

